Export Controls

Assessment of Commerce Department's Foreign Policy Report to Congress Gao ID: NSIAD-86-172 August 19, 1986

GAO examined the Secretary of Commerce's January 1986 report to Congress on extending the foreign policy controls in effect prior to the passage of the Export Administration Amendments Act of 1985, to ensure that it fully complied with the statutory reporting requirements.

GAO found that, although the 1986 report met the act's requirements, it had certain shortcomings, specifically: (1) the sections addressing alternative means and enforcement had little explanation; and (2) the sections on economic impact generally examined the economic effects of particular controls, but failed to explain the limitations in estimating economic impact. GAO believes that future reports should provide a better explanation of the consideration given to alternatives to the controls, the difficulties in enforcing them, and the limitations in assessing their economic impact.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.